Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1887-09-17

Uncanny sounds Heard and My.teriou.
Lights Seen by the valley Resi-
dents.
Nuperst.tiou> residents Of the regions
known i, Preakue,s, ialedon. and
other suburbs heumed IN by the lofty
hills known a. High mountain. writes
q Patterson. \. j.. corresponde ut 10
the New York World, place extra bolts
OH their doors now o nights and are
careful to be indoors after hours
Numbers Of super,titIous ones, and
sHne who are not superstitious bv anv
means. are willing 10 make atiidayits
that they have heard uncanny sounds
proceeding fromzthe heights, and near
" everybody i'll the vicinity who has
been near the foot Of the mountain
after dark will vouch for the statement
that mysterious lights have been seen
Mttng to and fro up among the trees.
No soul i've, there, and. a it is said
that several murders have been perpe-
trated there, the villagers state, with
solemn shake of the head. that "the
devil j. AT work and no mistake and
that there are ''spOOks Oh High moun-
tain.
\ party IF the Drawer and brawnier
lads Of the balliwick endeayored to
solve the mystery q few nights ago,
but they soon returned with white
faces aud quaking limbs, and inform
ed those in waiting by the stove of the
place or Rendezvous that 1t was all
well enough fOr them TO be sttin' there
t"astin' their ohius and joken', but if
they wanted 10 find out anything atout
the ,pOoks they had better maze the
trip themselves. Upon being roliitied
with ''somethinr hot, they became
more communicative, and related TO
their open-mOuthed audience the fol-
lowing hair-curdling tale:
They said they had climbed to the
top of the mountain, where the lights
had been seen, when all at once they
We're surrounded by lights that jumped
around them and climbed the,trees and
performed other acrobatic feats. AL
though they appeared to be right in
the midst Of the flames not a hair
OF their head was injured and their
clothing wasn't even singed. They
smeIIcd phosphorus just as PLAN "a it
could be smclied, and while they were
wondering what to do next the wind
whistled through the trees, producing
such unearthly sounds that they came
right straight away and let the wind
have it all TO itself.
Doubling Ihoma>es IN tho audience
plucked up courage and firearms
enough to make the trip themselves
and they, TOO. soon returned, looking
as pale as the historical ghosts and
shaking like rattle boxes. Nobody
showed disposition to 90 home, and
finally, when the host informed them
that it was time to close up, they start
cd off in group and spent the night
together by hospitable neighbor' J
fire rather than pass the mountain un-
til daylight did appear.
Since then the phenomena have been
witnessed by scores of those who were
brave enough to approach within sight
of the bleak and densely wooded
mountain, and the matter has been tho
chief topic of conversation in the coun-
try stores. in the tayerns, in the village
schools. and has even been referred to
hv the local dominies. The town hood
huns are now free Of going to the
stores after dark, for their parents
would not think Of sending them where
they would not 90 themselves. The
jolty hosts Of the roadside tayerns are
Jolly no longer. or must be content to
be Jolly by themselves, for the loungerS
now lounge at home.
Old residents say that the same thing
occurred just before the last cholera
epidemic, and that the lights presage
another visitation Of that dread scourge
Scores of old timers are. willing te
TINS and